It’s Time to Start Talking About Hell Again
We must see a return to Holy Spirit-anointed preaching on hell. We must warn people, with tears in our eyes, that they are headed there!
“Enter at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who are going through it, because small is the gate and narrow is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt. 7:13-14).
God doesn’t need a publicist.
I’m dismayed by the radical shift away from full-counsel preaching of the Word of God.
I don’t know how often I’ve heard people say that preaching on hell results in fear—and there is no fear in love—and so we must avoid it at all costs.
This demonically twisted wisdom has resulted in a massive resistance to large segments of the Bible in the hopes that highlighting the benefits would be enough to woo people to Christ.
“But I will warn you whom you shall fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell. Yes, I say to you, fear Him”(Luke 12:5).
Today we have evangelism that communicates how much God loves people without communicating how great their sin is, and what the result will be if they do not repent. This results in a new breed of deceived religious people who believe they are safe but are most likely not. Repentance is non-negotiable.
God does not need you or me as publicists, carefully reframing His words so they are received by the greatest number of people. We are preachers not politicians!
When people see how convicted we are that they are on a path to a place as horrific as hell, they will at least see our love for them. They all won’t agree with us, but they will say: “Wow, they may be nuts but I really think they are convinced that harm is coming to us. They don’t hate us after all.”
When we use more natural tactics alone to confront the various evil agendas in the land we communicate that we are more interested in the preservation of the society we prefer—one that fits into our definition of appropriate.
However, if we have the courage to take the battle to a higher level, we can boldly preach the reality of eternal damnation as a passionate yet heartbroken church. Our identity will be transformed from one who watches out for our own interests to true watchman—those who are invested in the eternities of others.
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel. Whenever you hear the word from My mouth, then warn them from Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you do not warn him, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand” (Ezek. 3:17-18).
Our cry must be: “No! Please! Understand that your lifestyle will result in a horror that you can’t even imagine. You will never have even a moment of relief. Please, repent, turn, let God’s love overwhelm you!”
Behavior Modification?
Some might suggest that I’m suggesting that behavior modification is the key to salvation. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The keys to death, hell and the grave were retrieved by Jesus Christ, the only one who could do what was necessary to save mankind from destruction.
“When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though I were dead. Then He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, though I was dead. Look! I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death'” (Rev. 1:17-18).
However, it does remain true that unrepentant participation in sin absolutely does disqualify us from a relationship with Jesus. The fact that homosexuals unapologetically confess to participating in behavior that is forbidden by God is a clear indicator that they are not saved. The fact that those who are pro-abortion are set in their ways and determined to keep murder legal in America is evidence that they are clearly not in a legitimate relationship with Jesus.
It is fully appropriate to preach without apology that continuing in those (and other) sins without repentance and without making Jesus the Lord and Master of their lives will end terribly for them.
People need to hear the prophets shouting the alarms of eternal destruction that comes to those in rebellion to God!
“So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things. But now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf, so that those who would pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ He said, ‘Then I pray you, father, to send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, to testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them hear them” (Luke 16:24-29).
